Kumasi GOIL station midnight ‘shocker’ lesson: Time for a ‘mystery shopper’ policy!

A couple of weeks ago, when I wrote about the shocking behaviour of a GOIL station attendant in Kumasi, at one of the company’s fuel stations, I had no idea that the incident would lead to another surprise from the company.

But this time, it was a very pleasant, welcome development: a gratifying apology from the management of GOIL Plc! And that wasn’t all.

A letter from the company’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Dr. Marcus Deo Dake, rendering an apology to me, and by inference the others affected by the occurrence, stated that “GOIL PLC unreservedly apologises to you for the inconvenience caused”. Significantly, the letter was copied to the Group CEO and MD.

The incident occurred just after midnight, at the beginning of Friday, July 14 2023, and my article was published online on Thursday, July 20, under the headline ‘Of a Kumasi GOIL station attendant’s midnight ‘shocker’.

A summary of the article:

I happened to be a passenger in a VIP company Dormaa-Ahenkro to Accra night bus, which stopped at the Labour Office area GOIL station, in Kumasi, because a passenger had requested a stop to urinate.

Apparently the driver had decided that a fuel station would be more convenient than a roadside stoppage, as fuel stations have washrooms; and I was relieved because I thought there was bound to be a washroom there and therefore I, too, could use it.

So, as happens in such cases, it wasn’t only the man who had made the request who got down; a few others too got down, including me. However, to my dismay, a GOIL attendant, a young woman I approached, insisted that there was no washroom there!

Thus, ironically, the passengers had no alternative but to resort to the ‘open urination’ that the thoughtful driver had clearly sought to avoid, before we continued our journey.

Later, a Kumasi resident confirmed to me that the Labour GOIL station does have a washroom, which he has used before.

My further enquiries confirmed that the supervisory body, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) even requires all petrol stations to have washrooms/toilets before they are given the licence to operate.

Not only that, the facilities are not to be restricted to a station’s customers.

The NPA’s Consumer Services Manager, Mrs Eunice Budu Nyarko, explained to me: “Washrooms at the various retail outlets are to be accessible to all, whether you drive in to purchase fuel or not.”

General Manager of VIP JEOUN Transport Mr. Frimpong Manso, too, told me: “It’s unfair that the passengers were denied usage of the washroom. Again, it’s a public place and under the licensing regime of the NPA, so it’s an offence not to have a washroom, let alone to deny its usage.”

Of course the attendant’s uncivil attitude was a distressing experience for me personally; and, needless to say, it also gave a negative impression about the station and the company.

However, to me, the courteous letter from the management has generated positives for the company and demonstrated GOIL’s integrity.

Besides, apart from the apology, as outlined by Dr Dake, the attendant has been sanctioned by way of a suspension and steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence. Moreover, “GOIL is also in the process of reviewing its forecourt operations and service offering with a view to improving customer experience”.

I was very impressed by the letter. It’s not often that an establishment, and such a leading one at that, not only apologises for a misconduct on the part of a staff member, but also gives assurances that measures are being taken to prevent such behaviour.

Most commendable of all, is the fact that the management at the highest level has taken responsibility for the attendant’s ill-mannered behaviour.

Clearly, to the GOIL management, they had to make amends, having investigated the matter, and concluded that my account, corroborated by the station’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording, was accurate.

Interestingly, it seems to me that the company is using the unfortunate Labour station happening as a fortuitous ‘Mystery shopper’ benefit. A ‘Mystery shopper’ is “someone employed by a company to check how its products or services are being sold (or patronised, staff behaviour, etc.) by pretending to be a normal customer”, as explained by a reference source.

Other organisations might have taken a defensive line, shirked responsibility, and rather decided that the complainant must have done something wrong, so they are not to blame.

Nevertheless, I pray that the review promised by Dr Dake will involve all GOIL stations, because it is likely that the ‘Labour’ station episode is happening in other places, unknown to management. For example, a colleague of mine recounted to me what he went through at a Tema GOIL station some weeks ago.

He said: “In my case, they told me they have misplaced the keys to the washroom. The first person I talked to told me he was not in charge of the washroom. He directed me to talk to another colleague who redirected me to a lady in the GOIL shop. The lady also redirected me to another guy who eventually told me the washroom was locked and the key could not be found!”

Yet, the NPA makes it clear that no fuel station should refuse to help anybody who requests such assistance, even if they’re not buying fuel; and the Authority is to be commended for this.

So maybe it is also necessary for the NPA itself to consider employing ‘mystery shoppers’ to check whether fuel stations are implementing this requirement. Moreover, it seems to me that a country that is fighting ‘open defecation’, as Ghana is currently doing, needs to tackle its other aspects, too.

Furthermore, I believe that the ‘mystery shopper’ concept could help establishments learn how their staff behave in their interactions with the public, and thus help improve their delivery.

Journalists aim to highlight wrongs in the hope that it will bring about change for the better. The GOIL apology and the actions outlined in the letter, indicate that the management is a caring one, a listening company; serious about providing exemplary customer care. And, proudly, it’s a fully Ghanaian company.

Of course in these times of cost of living crises, the ‘mystery shopper’ suggestion might be dismissed as unnecessary. But surely attention to such minor but important details are part of the building blocks of a civilised society.

Furthermore, paying attention to such seemingly small matters, might lead to the kind of country we so admire about the developed world.